The process of buying a new home, as we all know, can be very long and complex. Arguably the most complex of this entire process is introduced right from the beginning, the mortgage. The process of figuring out what mortgage to get, how to get it, and what it should be for, should all be taken into consideration before embarking on the home buying process. This will be the start of a series of blog posts tailored to the mortgage process. Below are the key steps, in somewhat specific order, that we will cover in depth to educate you about the mortgage process:
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Get pre-qualified and pre-approved
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Establish good credit
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Come up with an affordable down payment
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Select a good mortgage type and lender
First, let’s focus on what pre-qualification and pre-approval is, and means. For those that are not familiar, a mortgage is simply a loan that a person will take out so that they can purchase a house. This loan is paid back over many years until the house is fully paid off and owned by the buyer. Here is a great article from Trulia which provides eight useful steps that should be followed when getting a mortgage. As hinted above, the two most important steps are to get pre-approved and pre-qualified.